Schools ordered to uphold 'fundamental British values' in wake of Trojan Horse scandal

ALL schools will be ordered to uphold “fundamental British values" following the scandal of Muslim extremism in classrooms, Michael Gove told MPs today.

Michael Gove unveiled measures designed to crackdown on infiltration by Islamist militants[PA]

The Education Secretary unveiled a series of measures designed to crackdown on infiltration by Islamist militants after a report by inspectors Ofsted exposed shocking practises in five schools in Birmingham.

He and Home Secretary Theresa May came out fighting in show of unity in the Commons in an attempt to repair the Government's anti-extremism strategy after the damaging row that has engulfed their departments over the last week.

Ofsted inspectors today placed five Birmingham schools in special measures following "grave concerns" that Muslim fanatics were attempting to indoctrinate youngsters.

In a statement to MPs, Mr Gove said: "We will put the promotion of British values at the heart of what every school has to deliver for children.”

He added: "What we have found was unacceptable. And we will put it right."

New guidance will be sent to schools to order teachers to encourage respect for the law and for "the fundamental values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance."

And new misconduct advice will be toughened up to ensure that anyone found to have invited extremist speakers into schools will face a lifetime ban from teaching.

Mr Gove told MPs: "The steps we are taking today are those we consider necessary to protect our children from extremism - and protect our nation’s traditions of tolerance and liberty."

He added: "Things that should not have happened in our schools were allowed to happen.

"Our children were exposed to things they should not have been exposed to.

"As Education Secretary, I am taking decisive action to make sure those children are protected.

"Schools that are proven to have failed will be taken over, put under new leadership and taken in a fresh new direction.

"Any school could now be subject to rigorous, on the spot inspections - with no advance warning and no opportunities to conceal failure."

Mr Gove and Home Secretary Theresa May came out fighting in show of unity in the Commons [PA]

What we have found was unacceptable. And we will put it right

Michael Gove

Earlier, Mrs May insisted to MPs that she did not authorise the publication of an explosive letter she wrote to Mr Gove criticising his department's failure to tackle extremism in schools.

Answering an urgent question from Labour, she told the Commons that an inquiry by Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood had cleared her of responsibility for releasing the letter on the Home Office website.

"As the Cabinet Secretary and Prime Minister concluded, I did not authorise the release of my letter to the Education Secretary," she told MPs.

But she refused to respond to suggestions from shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper that she had deliberately written the letter in order that it could be leaked.

"Instead of showing leadership and working together, the Education Secretary and Home Secretary chose to let rip at each other in public, making it harder to get the joint sensible working that we need," she said.

Mrs May fought back with a scathing attack on the record for tackling extremism of the last Labour government.

"We make sure that the groups we work with and fund adhere to British values and where they do not we do not fund them and we do not work with them. None of these things was true when the party opposite was in power," she said.

The dispute between the two Cabinet ministers infuriated Mr Cameron after it threatened to overshadow last week's Queen's Speech and the Tory victory in the Newark by-election.

Mr Gove was ordered to apologise for criticising the Home Office and Mrs May's special adviser, Fiona Cunningham, quit at the weekend following the Cabinet investigation into the row.

Mr Cameron held an emergency summit with Mrs May, Mr Gove and other senior ministers to thrash out a response to the schools extremism crisis.